It took more than a bit of explaining, but Munto was only partially distracted by the fusion systems starting up and Rix was kept busy (skipping the requested ‘nap’ in favor of cleaning the life support systems and learning about modern FTL.
Modern FTL, as Munto, TACITs, and the whole of galactic society used, was a derivative of the old Terran Alcubierre drive (this much being common knowledge).
In doing so however, this restricted galactic networking and travel to a certain degree at the expense of wholly avoiding time dilation concerns. Maximum ranges were determined as a result of the strange matter being used to manipulate exotic matter to some maximum energy level before the energy had to be bled off.
By using a similar technique, galactic networking and data nets used the same means, effectively limiting the distance at which galactic networking was possible, but also limiting the effective bandwidth at great distances due to the amount of ‘hops’ a given datastream was required to make.
For the majority of data traffic, stations often cache data traffic used by various groups in each general region. The upshot of this was that it reduced the effective need for longer distance datastreams. Because this system had become commonplace throughout galactic society, even the TACITs relied upon it and so any databases not commonly accessed could be as close as the nearest network hub or accessible only via slow data connection.
There were concerns about data controls, but those were the concerns of organics, from Munto’s perspective.
It was now Rix’s turn.
At the time of the TSC, FTL was most commonly conducted via massive void gates which were connected to stellar gravity wells in a way that Rix couldn’t wholly explain.
Munto sighed internally, expecting that would be the answer on a lot of this.
These void gates were everything about interstellar society at the time and entire wars had been fought over control of them. There were even factions who had attempted to destroy their local void gate, which would effectively cut themselves off from the rest of interstellar society. Since the gates were linked together, the primary powers had mutually agreed to hold the void gates as neutral territory, regardless of ongoing military conflicts. Rix called the last major battle involving a void gate by a curious name.
Based on the Terran’s description, time dilation effects were also common within the gate network, equating to a near 1 to 100 differential, making transit through the gates seem do take days instead of the weeks or months that it actually required.
The Terrans had even tried harnessing the network space for non-realspace storage, but those had always been pipedreams, according to Rix.
Jump drives were a leap away from those void gates, intent on providing a means of ‘transmitting’ the ship’s position from one point to another in a comparative fractional amount of time. While there was still some time dilation, the time to transit between points was governed by an energy field that the Terrans didn’t wholly understand, but had managed to shield against. Rix described it as a kind of ‘drag’ on a ship, slowing it down as a result of the energy field interacting with the ship while in jump.
A long jump, as Rix had mentioned was necessary for the colony, was to be a whole week. The equivalent distance scale logarithmically with time in jump, so longer jumps required months of pre-calculations and planning, including with equivalently prepared probes to prevent collisions or issues associated with interstellar distances.
The military upshot was that it would be possible to skip using the void gates and appear directly in enemy territory (a concept that Rix briefly mentioned, but Munto did not press for additional information). However, due to the amount of energy required for jump drives as well as the specialty materials involved, Rix doubted any military would give it too much consideration except as a potential first strike capacity.
Munto was… not surprised by the descriptions of the ‘obvious’ martial applications of the technology, but decided the discussion of organics doing warfare would most likely need to wait until the Terran could see what that entailed in the current frame of context.
Rix had some very brief ‘manuals’ which were little more than sales brochures for the jump drive that Munto skimmed.
In short, jump drives were almost perfect for going out beyond the stellar ‘neighborhood’ and founding a new colony, given the then current method of ‘flying’ gates in almost every direction possible, connecting all the various points of light.
Munto could see the logic, but still couldn’t quite figure out how the jump drive actually worked, since the three arrays and the associated control computer provided almost nothing in the way of answers.
Rix had finished cleaning the last life support filter with a puff of nitrogen and the two had parted – Rix going to the ‘bunk’ where the stasis chambers were and Munto had trundled the walking frame up to the Galley to charge the walking frame.
The fusion systems were started and ignition was occurring.
The Esperanto’s heart was restarted.
--
As the Terran slept, Munto went over their internal diagrams of that part of themself that was docked outside.
The Esperanto was now capable of supporting the Terran at least and while the concept of the jump drive was still a bit odd to Munto, it did at least make a kind of sense. Although why the Terrans of the TSC had decided to equip an entire colony convoy with a not wholly tested means of FTL was strange.
And even as Munto tried to comprehend the logic of the Terrans of the TSC, they poured over their own diagrams.
Without knowing what system the rogue process had come from and the revelations by the Terran of analog controls designed specifically to disconnect Munto or one like them from control of the vessel, Munto was uncertain if it would even be possible to reinsert themself into themself.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Munto replayed the memory of the event. It appeared to be associated with some part of the networking systems. That would be a problem. Munto couldn’t control the other systems without networking, but the Terran almost certainly wouldn’t be able to remove it.
--
Several hours later, Rix announced that he was up.
Munto first saw him as he came into the galley wearing little more than basic garments and waved to the walking frame.
“Have a good rest, Em?” Rix asked.
“In a fashion. I do not believe you will be able to disconnect the impairing systems and restore me to myself however. I do not have access to the related data files and I believe I would not be granted access to them even if I were online,” Munto said.
“That’s an awful lot to hit a man with before coffee, but I’ll bite. Why not?” Rix thumbed several buttons and a container that steamed slightly was produced.
“TACITs are not normally capable of major self-correction. And given some of the limitations we have previously discussed, I do not believe that I would be able to locate such mechanisms in any case.”
“So…, in short, we know there’s a problem, it’s baked into your ship somewhere, not sure where, and we don’t have a good way to know what it is or what’s impacted if we try and remove it,” Rix sipped his coffee.
“Short and imprecise, but accurate,” Munto commented.
“Let me get some more coffee before I retort. Maybe some breakfast too,” Rix mumbled.
The ship hummed around them slightly.
“So I can’t likely take your ship into jump space, you can’t take the Esperanto into whatever FTL space you use, we can’t plug you back into your ship, at least not with me still here, and we still don’t know where the rest of my species went,” Rix appeared to be coming up to speed all the faster as they sipped.
“Those are reasonably logical statements. I do not have any recommendations which do not include connecting me back to the network and myself, which runs the risk of dealing with the demands of the messages I showed you,” Munto displayed their local copies of those messages to the galley screen.
Rix finished the container of liquid and put it back into the machine, which refilled it. Rix also pushed several buttons and a flat container was lowered. Munto presumed this was the aforementioned coffee and breakfast.
“I don’t like to suggest it, but what if we pulled the comms system out of your ship and plugged it in over here?” Rix asked, pulling out a triangle of food and appearing to dip it into some part of the container, coating the tip in a yellow color.
Munto glanced at the diagrams.
“It is associated with my FTL system as previously described and I do not believe the Esperanto can generate an equivalent means of communication,” Munto said, shrugging with the walking frame.
“What can we salvage if we don’t see about plugging you back in?” Rix said.
“Is that really your first suggestion? We can’t grab gear so we have to break it down for parts?” Munto’s displeasure was obvious.
“No need to get too upset with me. It was just an idea. I don’t like being stuck here in sublight speeds at 30% grav,” Rix shrugged and continued eating.
“Then don’t be making suggestions about disassembling me unnecessarily,” Munto retorted.
The pair sat in silence save for the hum of the Esperanto and Rix’s chewing.
“Can we park your vessel somewhere reasonably safe so that we can come back?” Rix asked eventually.
Munto gave it some thought.
“Stellar debris was lowest near the most star-ward planetoid. It would likely be safest in orbit there for several months at least,” Munto said.
“Then let’s do that. We can get back to some semblance of civilization, maybe figure out where the Terrans went, and then figure out how to get you reassembled without your network going crazy again,” Rix leaned back from his meal and took a long swig of coffee.
--
It took Munto and Rix several days to get the Esperanto and Munto’s self turned around and headed back towards the star at a decent speed. It was complicated by the fact that Munto’s self reactors died half a day into the turn, requiring the Esperanto’s ion drives to work that much harder.
They also took the time to see what augments they could equip the Esperanto with.
Basic gravity plates to supplement the floors, additional mass scoops, even a second mobile printer.
Munto’s walking frame struggled anytime it reached an area that the Terran had set it for full ‘Terra’ gravity. If Munto hadn’t done the medical scan themselves, they might not have believed it, but for as easily as the Terran moved in it, it wasn’t difficult to believe that it was the natural environment for the Terran.
The planetoid, a small world that sat especially close to the star and was a half-melted, half-frozen world and rotated almost notably slowly (rotating on its axis only once every 3 full orbits of the star), ended up being everything Munto recalled from their initial survey approximately two and a half weeks prior.
Munto remembered the messages and positions from TACITNet. If any of their compatriots were estimated to visit, Rix and Munto only had a few days at most.
Munto felt… strange in considering the Terran’s ‘conspiracy theory’. It wasn’t that it didn’t follow some path of logic, but it also seemed illogical. In the absence of better information though, it was difficult to gauge otherwise.
--
It took another three days to successfully park Munto’s self on the cold side of the planetoid, holding position away from the star. In those three days, Rix began to prepare the jump drive.
“Where are we going?” Munto asked.
“The only place I have coordinates for. The colony. Seems as good a place as any to start,” Rix said.
Munto would have disagreed, but did not have sufficient information to prevent an issue with jumping into an inhabited system.
Munto happened to be checking the sensors in that moment, when FTL transitions started happening. First one and then three and then another fifteen. They were orderly at first but rapidly became almost chaotic. They were all centered on where Munto had found the Esperanto.
“Friend or foe?” Rix asked.
“I am uncertain as to their intentions without communicating with them,” Munto said.
“I was speaking rhetorically. Any ideas what they are or who without actually calling them up?” Rix leaned back a bit and watched a control panel.
Munto played with the sensors and continued to watch the arrivals. FTL transitions ceased after the 26th vessel arrived.
Each was the typical size of a TACIT and had many of the same hallmarks.
Munto tried turning up the gain on some of the sensors in the hope of seeing something more. And that was when one of them spotted the Esperanto.
The group turned and began moving at speed toward the Esperanto.
“Well, that doesn’t look good. What’s say we get out of here?” Rix sat up and started hitting buttons.
Munto felt the jump drive start charging.
“What if they are here to rescue me?” Munto suggested.
“Then they could at least talk to us,” Rix said, glancing at the communications panel.
Munto checked this and noted an incoming laser transmission.
**
Identity: Whern 41952
Mission: Recover malfunctioning TACIT Munto 49172
**
Munto sent a simply reply:
##
Identity: Munto 49172, Housing: TSS Esperanto’s
Status: Networking failure due to malfunctioning offline protocols.
Status: Cooperating with organic identified as Terran.
##
Whern’s almost immediate response shocked Munto:
**
Identified Terran to be in protective custody.
~~~
Error:
System Terran Message begins: Depart. Flee. Run. Further messages to follow.
Error!
~~~
Link re-established. Recommend coordinate with organic for transit to manufactory and Organic Stations.
**
“Rix, how soon can you get us out of here?” Munto asked, re-reading the final message.
“Right now,” Rix said and hit a button.
And the universe around the Esperanto went black.